OPTIMISM ABOUNDS AS HOG FOOTBALL SEASON NEARS

The air is crisp and cool this morning. It reminds me of a nice autumn day in Arkansas that you might see in October. It makes me think of the leaves changing to beautiful oranges and reds and yellows, and it also makes me think of making that wonderful drive up on the Hill for some Hog football. But alas it's still August and for some reason God has blessed us with this wonderful non-typical weather that I will be the last one to gripe about. That along with us being only a week away from Hog football has me pumped up about ready to dance for joy, and call those Hogs baby!!!!!

It's my favorite time of year and I can't help but be optimistic about this year's team. I think most people are excited about what's in store, and for good reason. We have more depth and talent on the offensive side of the ball than we've seen in a long time, maybe ever. We have a defense that got better as last season went along, and one that has been infused with much better talent, size, and speed at almost every position in the offseason. That alone makes it sound like we should have a heck of a season, especially when you consider the men responsible for coaching said talent. I mean, you'd be crazy to not predict a 10 win season at worst, right? But alas there are still some question marks and big ones at that, that will have to be answered as the season goes along, before we determine how good this team can or will be. A few of those are of course the special teams play, as well as the defense.

The defense is a question mark because it struggled so mightily for most of the season last year, especially against the top tiered teams. It did get better as the season went on, but anyone that follows SEC football knows, it takes a stout defense to win and win big, no matter how good of an offense you might have. I don't expect our defense to struggle like it did last year, but I also don't expect a miracle. We will see much improvement on this side of the ball, and it will help us win a few more games than last year. But I don't see us shutting down a Florida or an LSU just yet. Does that mean we can't outscore teams like that, well, we'll just have to wait and see. We did figure out a way to do it to LSU last year so we know that these Hogs have it in them to step up and tusk someone that they're not exactly expected to. We have more depth on defense this year at every position. We did bring in some JUCO players as well in the secondary that should help immediately as well as the two freshmen talents, in Winston and Gordon. Both should contribute immediately and should improve as they gain experience. Our defensive line needs to step it up for us to win more than 5 games this year. It has to get pressure on the opposing quarterbacks in order to not leave our secondary hanging out to dry. I believe our linebackers are ready to show what they can do as we go into this season in much better shape than last year. We have healthy big and strong SEC looking linebackers that are ready to lay a hit on the best players in football. Now they just need to make sure they are in the right place at the right time. This position to me is a key to our defensive improvement. We have to stay healthy here as it's still not as deep as other positions on the team. Let me say that again, WE HAVE TO STAY HEALTHY at the linebacker position for us to have a good season. At pretty much every other position we have some good depth. The secondary is still a bit thin for my liking, but I think the backups are probably more talented than the starters, but they are green. Hopefully we will avoid the injury bug, and they can be brought along slowly and not forced to play out of desperation. The safety position will be a fun one to watch as Anthony Leon gets thrown into the mix. He will remind some of Kenoy Kennedy with his hitting style. He hopefully will put the fear of Hog in our opponent's wide receivers when they come across the middle. What this defense needs is a leader. I think they have one in Malcolm Sheppard. He will need to have an All-SEC type season for us to do well, and I think he will. Like I said, I don't expect a miracle from this group, but I do expect major improvement. I think Willy Robinson will prove his worth one way or the other this season. He's got some players now, and now he's got to show what kind of a coach he is. We will have our questions answered soon enough on the defense.

The special teams, well that's a whole other ball of wax. It's probably the biggest question mark on the team this year that probably has the biggest impact on each individual game be it good or bad. Bad special teams play has plagued the Hogs for it seems like decades now. Sure we have had bright spots here and there with either some great return men in Felix and D-Mac, or great punters, or great coverage teams. We have not had a great kicker or punt returner it feels like in ages. So what does Petrino do? He goes out and finds the best special teams coach he can find. He knows this aspect of the game is just as important as the offense and defense. It can win or lose games just as easily as having a Swiss cheese defense or an unstoppable offense. I believe our strengths this season will once again be on kickoff returns with Dennis Johnson holding a firm grip on the job. Punt returns should have a bit more excitement this year, and not just from holding our breath hoping the unlucky punt catcher will actually catch the ball. I think Joe Adams will finally give us what we've all been waiting for since.......Well since Ken Hatfield was back there. A punt returner that is an actual threat to take it all the way to the house at any time. He is so quick and shifty that he can make guys miss at the drop of a hat. I think he will make us excited for a good reason and will probably extend Hog fan's life expectancy's by years.......As long as he catches the ball. Michael Smith may get a shot as well at punt returner, but I think Adams is bigger and just as quick so he'll probably keep the gig for the most part.

As far as the actual kickers themselves, that is the biggest question mark on this team. Can Tejada become the Tejadamatic that we've all been hoping for, or will we all be saying Tejadios and looking for someone else. The problem is there is nobody else. We have a walkon but he has performed so poorly I don't even remember his name. We do have a kicker coming in next year, but this post is about this year's team. Bottom line is Tejada needs to man up mentally and physically and do the one thing asked of him, kick it straight and kick it hard. If he can do that, even somewhat consistently it will mean a difference in at least 2 to 3 games. If not, we'll be seeing a lot more gambling by Petrino than we might like. It hurt us big time last year and definitely kept the Hogs out of a bowl game. A kick here and there will be the difference in this team going to a crappy December bowl, or a New Year's Day bowl. Let's all bow our heads and say a little prayer for Tejada now. It can't hurt.

Now onto the punting situation, we have some great gunners this year, with speed galore, as well as guys that are ready to hit. Punt coverage has been one of our few strengths on the special teams in the past several years and I don't expect anything differently as long as our punter gets the ball off and does a decent job. You may see two different punters as the competition is tight between Forester and Breeding. One has the edge in experience, that would be Forester. He's also been the most consistent in fall camp. Breeding has the edge in leg strength however he's a true freshman and tends to shank the kicks a bit more than Forester. John L. Smith has high hopes for him in the future. I'm betting that you'll see both. Forester will be the first out but if there is a sign of trouble be it a shank or just not getting the ball off in time, you'll see a quick hook to check out the competition play out in a live game. This position is not one that you want to pay a whole lot of attention to but when something goes wrong, everyone in the stadium knows it. Let's hope the punters will remain somewhat unnoticed this year. Heck let's hope that we don't ever have to use the punters, that would be great wouldn't it?

I am truly not too concerned with the offense, I think we have several playmakers at every skill position and as long as we see our offensive line perform to Petrino's standards, we will see good things out of the Hog offense. In fact if there is a question on offense it is our line. We have to replace Luigs at center and that will be no easy task, but I expect good things out of our line. Especially since the defenses will have to cover the whole field and not just play the run. Ryan Mallet is ready to show what he can do, and I think all Hog fans are ready as well. I don't think he will be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but for the first time in years, we will not be relying on a bus driver to get us down the field, but a true NFL type talent that can be molded into one of the top QBs in the game. And if for some reason he can't get the job done, we have a quality backup in Tyler Wilson to come in and get the job done. Really, if I'm 1oo% honest, I believe that this position will have it easier due to the talent surrounding it at the wide receiver and running back positions. I think Casey Dick would have had a great season if he had another year of eligibility and that's saying a lot. I'm glad he's moved on though and we have replaced him with a rocket armed Mallet that can take even more advantage of those aforementioned weapons. Those weapons include guys like Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Greg Childs, London Crawford, DJ Williams, Michael Smith, Dennis Johnson, all players that made huge plays last year. And that doesn't even include the super talented incoming players like: Cobi Hamilton, Broderick Green, Ronnie Wingo, Knile Davis, players that will have an impact even though they are only freshmen other than Green. I have to say it.....We're freaking loaded. Who are you going to shut down if you are the other team? Pick one, pick two, hell pick three or four that you are going to focus on. Do that and guess what, one of the others is sure to get you. This is a coordinators fantasy or nightmare depending on which side of the ball he's on. No wonder our defense has struggled, they are going against what I believe will be a top 20 offense. Not just running offense, or passing offense, but OFFENSE period. This should be one of the most exciting offensive teams to watch in Hog history. I know they haven't played a snap yet, and I'm biased.....Nah not me.

Yes with Bobby Petrino leading they way, this team may not have all of the pieces in place to compete for the SEC title just yet, but to me, it doesn't look like we are that far off. Yes we play a hellacious schedule, but what's new. Yes we play in the toughest conference, ah piece of cake. Yes we have one of the best head coaches in the land, and yes he has brought in some great coaches to assist him, and yes we have more talent on the Hill than who knows when. Now he has to make the pieces fit. What does that mean for this year? Excitement, joy, streets paved with gold and much more. But Hogaddict, what about wins? How many wins are we going to have? Ah, grasshopper, you will have to wait and see........Until my prediction post. :)

As usual GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!